Books by Alfonso Femia

Emblematic and recent projects by Italian architect Alfonso FemiaItalian architect Alfonso Femia (born 1966) is known for his experimental designs and "emotional architecture"--projects centered around interpersonal relationships and generosity. Written by historian and art critic Paul Ardenne and featuring photographs by Lub Boegly, this volume focuses on recent projects, including the Iguzzini showroom in Milan.

The large building, today known as Les Docks, designed by Gustave Desplaces and constructed between 1858 and 1864 on the model of the warehouses in the docklands of London, looks like a stone ship looming over the wharves of the port of Marseille. Rightly or wrongly, its designer is credited with the idea of having associated the construction with a symbolic and imaginative calendar: 365 meters in length, the number of days in a year, four courtyards, like the seasons, fifty-two doors, and seven stories... Urban myth or the truth? What is certain is that esoteric symbolism and a taste for numbers were often the prerogative of master builders and architects and undoubtedly fascinate the Italians Alfonso Femia and Gianluca Peluffo of 5+1AA. Their renowned ability to bring together the know-how of artisans, artists, contractors, and suppliers of materials has produced a remarkable aesthetic result, in which color and material articulate the internal spaces, animated by stores, restaurants, and offices.